Georgia State Patrol troopers from Post 3 in Cartersville and Post 43 in Calhoun went to I-75 southbound near mile marker 308 on Thursday morning around 7:30 to a multiple-vehicle crash. They found 21-year-old Brandon Johnson of Dallas deceased and 68-year-old Charlene Ann Kail in critical condition in a 2016 KIA Sorento. First responders transported Kail to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, where she died shortly after arrival.
The preliminary investigation revealed a tractor-trailer hauling a lift stopped on the west paved shoulder of I-75 southbound with a slight mechanical issue. The KIA Sorento, which served as its pilot car, was on the shoulder behind the tractor-trailer.
After resolving the mechanical problem, the tractor-trailer and the pilot car re-entered I-75 from the west shoulder. The tractor-trailer and the Sorento had established the right travel lane of I-75 but were still at low speed.
A second tractor-trailer struck the Sorento in the rear. The impact caused the car to hit the back of the first tractor-trailer. The Sorento and the second tractor-trailer left the roadway on the west shoulder. The second tractor-trailer traveled down an embankment still in contact with the car. The Sorento rotated counterclockwise and came to rest on the levee facing north. The second tractor-trailer overturned and came to final rest. It was still in contact with the car, facing south, lying on its left side.
First responders transported the second tractor-trailer’s driver to Gordon Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. A Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is still investigating the collision.